Fight Back With Libby Znaimer

Libby Znaimer is joined by Lauren O'Neil, Senior News Editor of BlogTO, David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto,  and Karen Stintz, CEO, Variety Village. The Ford government has introduced new legislation that would give it a tighter grip over regional governance and provide the mayors of both Ottawa and Toronto with greater power that involves being able to pass by-laws aligned with the government's priorities with just a third of council support. The province says it wants to do this to cut red tape when it comes to confronting issues like housing. Meanwhile, David and other former Mayors of Toronto including John Sewell wrote a piece in the Toronto Star arguing that the province is doing a disservice to municipal governments. ---- CUPE VS THE PROVINCE: THOUSANDS OF ED WORKERS TO RESUME STRIKE ON MONDAY Libby Znaimer is joined by Fred Hahn, President of CUPE. CUPE will resume striking next Monday because they are still not happy with any kind of offer from the Ford government for better wages on behalf of

Libby Znaimer is joined by John Papastergiou, Pharmacist at Shoppers Drug Mart followed by Angelique Berg, President and CEO of the Canadian Association for Pharmacy Distribution Management (CAPDM) and Dr. Jacalyn Duffin, an expert on the history of medicine at Queen's University. Health Canada is not yet able to confirm how much supply of children's pain and fever medication is on its way as pharmacies continue to face shortages since the data is confidential to the companies importing these drugs. This is the explanation was given to MPs on the House of Commons Health Committee. Meanwhile, the drug supply shortages at pharmacies are extending beyond kids fever and pain medication to over-the-counter and prescription medications. Industry experts are saying that this includes adult cough and cold syrup, eye drops and some oral antibiotics. Libby and guests discuss the latest. ---- WORLD COPD DAY Libby Znaimer is joined by Henry Roberts, member of the executive committee at COPD Canada. Today marks World C

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL: TENSIONS BETWEEN OTTAWA AND CHINA Libby Znaimer is joined by Howard Hampton, Former Ontario NDP Leader, Hugh Segal, Former Senator of Canada, and John Milloy, Former Ontario Liberal MPP who served as a cabinet minister under the Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne governments. Today: we begin the discussion with reaction to the province's Fall economic statement that was released yesterday. It included a doubling of Ontario Guaranteed Annual Income System payments (GAINS), and an extension of the gas tax cut among other items. However, it lacked a concrete plan on how it was going to address the ongoing healthcare crisis. Meanwhile, we shift the focus to Ottawa and discuss allegations of foreign interference in our 2019 federal election by China. 7 in 10 CANADIANS MAY BE MAKING INVESTMENT DECISIONS BASED ON QUESTIONABLE SOURCES: FSR Libby Znaimer is joined by Joel Gorlick, the Director of Policy – Market Conduct for the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario. Acco

Libby Znaimer is joined by Peter Muggeridge, Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine, David Cravit, Vice President, Zoomer Media, Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Policy Officer of CARP. This afternoon, the province will be announcing its fall economic statement. Can we expect any goodies to come out of it for Seniors? And, how much of the budget will be allocated to addressing Ontario's ongoing health crisis? WINTER DRIVING SEASON: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Libby Znaimer is now joined by Nadia Matos, External Communications for CAA South Central Ontario and Sgt. Kerry Schmidt of the OPP Highway Safety Division. This week, the CAA, Toronto Police, OPP, ministry of transportation and City of Toronto will be joining forces to present tips and reminders for driving safely this Winter season. Tune in to ask your questions. ---- MASKING UP AND WHEN TO GET BIVALENT SHOT AFTER YOU HAD FOUR DOSES Libby Znaimer is now joined by Dr. Fahad Razak, an internist at St. Michaels Hospital in Toronto and the former

On this Remembrance Day, listeners called in to pay respect to Canada's war veterans and to share their stories of loved ones who served and sacrificed in our nation's history. Lest we forget. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Jane Brown is joined, first, by WW2 veteran Jack Rhind who served in the Royal Canadian Artillery and fought in the Italian campaign among other places, followed by General Richard Rohmer who also fought in the war and played an instrumental role on D-Day. Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. To mark the special occasion, we invited on two WW2 vets who share their respective stories of fighting in the war. Jack, 102, reflects on the brutality of war and has said that ‘we need to remember how stupid and unnecessary" it is. He reads us a selection of passages from his diary. General Rohmer, 98, then details taking part on D-Day. And, of course, we want to hear from you, our listeners, about your own families during the war. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!

Jane Brown is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Lauren O'Neil, Senior News Editor of BlogTO, Karen Stintz, CEO of Variety Village, and David Crombie, the former Mayor of Toronto. Right now, Ontarians are grappling with COVID-19, the flu and RSV all circulating. So, is it time we re-institute mask mandates? At this point, our public health officials are refraining from making that call, including Toronto's medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa. And, at the same time, hospital ER wait times for patients reached a record high in September going up 44.7 percent compared to September of 2021. So, what does our municipal panel think about all of this? ---- REMEMBERING OUR WAR HEROES Jane Brown is joined, first, by WW2 veteran Jack Rhind who served in the Royal Canadian Artillery and fought in the Italian campaign among other places, followed by General Richard Rohmer who also fought in WW2. Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. To mark the special occasion, we invited on two WW2 vets who share

Marissa Lennox is filling in for Libby Znaimer today. She is joined by Cheuk Kwan of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China. Today: Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly delivered a speech today outlining Ottawa's new Indo-Pacific strategy. Ottawa will continue to maintain trade ties with China since the country is the second largest economy in the world, but as the speech outlined, the government is now seeking to diversify its trade relationships with countries in the region like India due to China's record on human rights, the reality that it ignores trade and investment rules and doesn't share the same values as Canada. Cheuk weighs in on the latest. ---- SHORTAGE OF ANTIBIOTICS AT PHARMACIES Marissa Lennox is now joined by Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association. In the news: Ontario pharmacies are facing a supply shortage of antibiotics that is used to help treat kids with bacterial infections and the finger of blame is being pointed towards a rise in respiratory illnesses go

Jane Brown  is joined by Charles Sousa, The former minister of finance for Ontario and MPP for Mississauga South, Lisa Raitt, Former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada, and Howard Hampton, former Ontario NDP leader. Today: CUPE education workers are no longer striking after Premier Ford promised to rescind legislation aimed at preventing that from happening. The two parties are now back at the bargaining table. But, can we expect to see both sides strike a deal soon? Meanwhile, provincial health ministers are calling on Ottawa to increase funding for their respective healthcare systems which have been strained during the pandemic. Premiers are meeting the the federal government this week to demand more action be taken to help ease the situation. Finally, our recovering politicians react to the news of a federal judge ruling that both Premier Ford and Health Minister Sylvia Jones don't have to appear before the Emergencies Act inquiry taking place in Ottawa. ---- DISABILITY ADVOCATE CALLS ON OTTAWA

Jane Brown is joined by Peter Muggeridge, Senior Editor of Zoomer Magazine, David Cravit, Chief Membership Officer of CARP and Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating and Chief Policy Officer of CARP. In the latest pertaining to CUPE vs the province, Premier Doug Ford announced that his government would be willing to drop the strike legislation and go back to the bargaining table if the union decides to stop striking. CUPE has agreed to this. But what comes next? ---- FORD GOVERNMENT'S PLAN TO BUILD HOMES ON GREENBELT Jane Brown is now joined by Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario, Gideon Forman, climate change and transportation policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation and Tim Gray, Executive Director of Environmental Defence. The Ford government has an ambitious plan to build 50,000 new homes on the Greenbelt. According to Housing Minister Steve Clark, the province wants to open up roughly 7,400 acres of the protected land to do this. Premier Doug Ford said that we have a housing crisis to

Listeners weighed in on the latest regarding CUPE education workers and the Ford government and the province's use of the notwithstanding clause

Jane Brown is filling in for Karen Stintz, CEO of Variety Village, Lauren O'Neil, Senior News Editor of BlogTO, David Crombie, former mayor of Toronto. In the news: the spat between thousands of CUPE education workers and the Ford government continues with the union threatening a strike this Friday if a deal over wages is not established by then. This, despite new legislation implemented by the province to prevent that from happening and hefty fines that will be given to those who walk off the job. Meanwhile,  the City of Toronto has put out a survey and wants to know what the general public thinks regarding their CafeTO program and how it might be improved for future years. Finally, has pedestrian traffic on our downtown streets reached pre-pandemic levels? Our panel reacts to the latest. ---- A LOOK AHEAD TO OTTAWA'S BUDGET Jane Brown  is now joined by John Mykytyshyn, Conservative strategist and political consultant and president of Bradgate Research Group as well as Tom Parkin, an NDP commentator. Toda

Jane Brown  is joined by NDP MPP (Nickel-Belt) France Gélinas and Dr. Alan Drummond, an emergency physician in Perth and co-chair of public affairs for the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. Ontario hospital ERs are feeling strained. In fact, Toronto General hospital issued an internal alert to notify that its ICU department is at full capacity and won't have room for more patients. Jane and guests react to the latest and weigh in on how much worse it could get with flu season upon us. ---- 84-YEAR-OLD WOMAN DENIED VAN RENTAL DUE TO HER AGE Jane Brown  is joined by Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Policy Officer of CARP and Julian Falconer, principal of Falconers LLP in Toronto. His practice focuses on human rights and public interest litigation. In the news: an 84-year-old Barrie woman was denied a van rental due to her age. Staff at Green Motion allegedly told her she could not rent or drive their vehicles because she is too old. Our guests react to the latest. Listen live, w

Jane Brown  is joined by Charles Sousa, The former minister of finance for Ontario and MPP for Mississauga South, Lisa Raitt, Former Deputy Leader of Conservative Party of Canada, and Howard Hampton, former Ontario NDP leader. Today: we begin the discussion with the latest on CUPE's dispute with the Ford government. Thousands of education workers are expected to walk off the job this Friday over a wage dispute despite new legislation by the province that is being implemented against that. ---- IT'S FLU SEASON: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Jane Brown  is joined by John Papastergiou, a pharmacist with Shoppers Drug Mart. The province is calling on Ontarians to get their free flu shot. As of today you can get it if you are six months of age or older. John joins us to explain why it's so important and weighs in on how severe this flu season might be. ---- CANADIANS INCREASING THEIR DEPENDENCY ON FOOD BANKS Jane Brown is now joined by Neil Hetherington, CEO of the Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto. In the news: Canad

Libby Znaimer today is joined by David Cravit, Chief Membership Officer of CARP, Bill VanGorder, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Policy Officer at CARP,  and John Wright, Executive Vice President of Maru Public Opinion. It's Halloween today. Jane asks the squad about their trick or treat plans and traditions. Meanwhile, the University Health Network is creating an emergency care centre for Seniors--the first of its kind in Canada--thanks to a $52 M donation the hospital received. And, according to a new report, consumer confidence in Canada has hit a two-year low when it comes to real estate, personal finance, job security and the overall economy. Our squad reacts to the news. ---- FORD GOVERNMENT TO PREVENT CUPE STRIKE THROUGH LEGISLATION  Jane Brown is joined by Sandra Hugh, Co-Chair to York Communities For Public Education and she is a parent to a young child in the system and who will be impacted by this and Jess Lyons, a lead organizer with Ontario Parent Action Network a nurse and mom of three.   T

Listeners called in to weigh in on Premier Doug Ford's decision to fight a summon to appear before the Emergencies Act Inquiry in Ottawa over the trucker convoy protests. We also talk about the traffic gridlock in downtown Toronto that has a lot of people venting.

Libby Znaimer is joined by Karen Stintz, CEO of Variety Village, David Crombie, Former Mayor of Toronto and Ana Bailão, former Toronto Councillor for Ward 9 Davenport and Deputy Mayor This week: the Ford government introduced sweeping new legislation regarding housing that would cut the authority of Conservation authorities and give more leeway to developers. What does our panel think about that? Meanwhile, we recap the elections that took place and those who were voted back in including mayors John Tory, Patrick Brown and Bonnie Crombie. ---- NEW CENSUS DATA Libby Znaimer is now joined by Elise Herzig, Executive Director of JIAS Toronto and Dr. Sarah Wilkens-Laflamme, Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Undergraduate studies in Sociology at the University of Waterloo. In the news: According to new census data released by Statistics Canada, immigrants could  comprise between 29.1 per cent to 34 per cent of the population of Canada by 2041. Asian immigrants increased from just 12.1 per cent in 1971 t

Libby Znaimer is joined by Lesley-Anne Scorgie, Founder of MeVest, a leading edge financial education company specializing in money coaching for Canadians and Gordon Pape, Editor and Publisher of the Internet Wealth Builder and Income Investor newsletters. Today: the Bank of Canada has increased the interest rate yet again to 50 basis points taking it to 3.75 per cent. This is the sixth time that the interest rate has been increased since March as the bank continues to try to fight high inflation. But what are the implications of these increases? Our guests weigh in. ---- ONTARIO'S HOUSING STRATEGY Libby Znaimer is joined by Dr. Brian Doucet, Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Social Inclusion School of Planning at the University of Waterloo and Frank Clayton Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Urban Research and Land Development, Toronto Metropolitan University. This week the Ford government has announced sweeping new legislation as it pertains to housing. ---- OTTAWA'S DENTAL BENEFIT PROGRAM VULNER

RECOVERING POLITICIANS PANEL:  THE DAY AFTER THE ELECTION Libby Znaimer is joined by Howard Hampton, Former Ontario NDP Leader, Hugh Segal, Former Senator of Canada and John Milloy, formerOntario Liberal MPP who served as a cabinet minister under Dalton McGuinty and Kathleen Wynne. It’s Tuesday - time to talk politics and it is the morning after municipal elections - 417 of them - which yielded few surprises, a nod to incumbency, and the lowest voter turnout in history. In Toronto, 29% - John Tory sailed to a third term with 62% of the vote. But here is the disappointing math: 62% of 29% is just under 18 which means the mayor of the country's largest city was elected by under 18% of eligible voters. Meanwhile the province is taking the lead on issues of housing and development with an announcement on zoning and things related this afternoon. And here’s one that has us scratching our heads: why is Doug Ford fighting a summon to appear before the inquiry into the use of emergency powers to end the convoy prot

Listeners weighed in on the upcoming municipal elections taking place on Monday of next week. And, some called in to discuss credit card transaction fees. Listen live, weekdays from noon to 1, on Zoomer Radio!